Go Ask Sam !
by LaChiquita
Summary: "Sam, she was a girl that he didn't really know. She has green eyes and smiles a lot. When she talks, he finds himself smiling. Sam, she was a teenage girl, and yet, she already had a heavy past and some blood on her small hands."
1. Wherever You'll Go, You'll Find a Friend

**Hello ! That's just an idea that hit me pretty hard whereas I was trying to fall asleep.**

**No pretension. I just wanted to share this with you. You guys tell me if I can go on or if I need to stop the mess right now. The story is set before Iron Man 2.**

**Disclaimer : Nothing belongs to me, except Sam. Because Sam is cool.**

* * *

It was now dark and the moon was shining brightly in the sky.

He has been driving for hours and he did not even know where he was. He only knew that he was no longer in California since he has reached Oregon since a while. Outside, the stars defiled like lost lights but he didn't see them.

He squeezed the steering wheel harder and sighed heavily. He was hurt. He was hurt so badly that he found it difficult to breathe when Pepper said she was leaving.

* * *

_Pepper was there, in his office. She was trembling but he couldn't see this. He was too focused on his job to pay attention what was happening around him._

"_Mr Stark –"_

"_Tony," He corrected, without looking up._

"_Tony. I can't do this. I can't do this anymore." She said. She felt her throat getting heavier. "I'm leaving."_

_He finally looked at her, clearly confused. "What? When? I didn't even know there were still some meetings to attend. When are you coming back?"_

_She bit her lips. "I'm not."_

_She looked away and he finally understood. The obvious fact hit him like a truck.  
_

"_You're leaving me," His voice wasn't accusing her but it was full of sadness, incomprehension, and betrayal. "But Pepper, you can't… I'm–I... I need you."_

"_What for?" She snapped. "Patching you up every time you're going to play hero?" She shook her head while tears threatening to fall. "I'm sorry, Tony but I can't. I'm not strong enough for this. Not strong enough for you. You'll find someone else."_

_She moved closer, kissed him softly on his kiss and then, she was gone. The door slightly opened as if it was waiting for Pepper to come back. As if he was waiting for her to come back. She used to come back every time._

_But this time, she did not._

_Then, Tony realized that he just lost his only friend._

* * *

"Is everything okay?"

Tony's eyes snapped open and he found himself looking through a young girl's green eyes. She had a small stature, she must be a fifteen or sixteen year-old-girl maybe. Her skin was pale, her hair was brown and her small accent – nearly unnoticeable – made him assume she was not from American. But yet, she just looked like the typical american girl.

"I'm okay." He said quietly and she frowned looking at his untouched plate. He shrugged his shoulders. "Not really hungry."

He didn't add anything more but it was enough since she gave him an apologetic smile."Trouble in paradise?" She asked, not really waiting for an answer.

"Yeah. I could say that." He said with a sigh.

She could see sadness all over his face."Sorry." She decided to change of subject. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"America is a free country, Princess." He gave her a pretty smile and she rolled her eyes. "Sit. Want something to eat?"

"Nope, not really hungry." She sat in front of him and finally noticed his glowing chest. She didn't say anything and he was thankful for this. He didn't want to be Iron Man right now. "I'm Sam by the way."

"Just Sam?"

"Just Sam." She repeated.

She handed him her hand and he surprisingly shook her. "Tony Stark. But I guess you knew that. Who doesn't know Tony Stark aka Iron Man."

"No, I didn't." Sam said falsely.

And he smirked. "You're such a bad liar."

"I was told." She replied knowingly and then, she stole one of his French fries.

He pushed her hand away. "Hey. Don't eat my food. Food is scared."

But she didn't listen and stole another one. "You said you weren't hungry."

"So did you, Princess!" And he grabbed the fries in her hands.

She smirked. "So I guess you're both liars."

"I guess we are. And you know what it's said about liars?" She waited for him to finish his sentence. "Liars are the best storytellers."

She raised one's eyebrowns. "You just invented this, didn't you?"

"Did I?" He played along and he pushed the plate forward her. He usually didn't share anything with anyone but tonight, he was ready to make an exception. "We share?"

She smiled and nodded. "We share and Tony?"

"Hum?" His mouth was full of food.

"Don't call me Princess."

He widely smiled.

He might just like this girl.

* * *

The night passed rather quickly. None of them had asked personnal questions in order to avoid to talk about sensitive topics.

When they finished dinner, Sam insisted to show him something. At first he had said no, not wishing to strut about in the streets. However, the girl had used on him her evil puppy eyes and he couldn't have help but say yes.

Besides, she had threatened him to shout out loud that Iron Man was right here that he couldn't really refuse anymore. So he had followed her, without flinching and then, he found himself enjoying her company. He could even get used to it he thought for their walk.

He didn't knew where she was taking him. He didn't really knew who she was but right now, he couldn't care less.

* * *

"I suppose you're more a city boy. But _this_ is my place."

In front of him, from the bridge where they were standing, there was a wonderful landscape; a huge lake that was sparking so much that it could have thought that stars had fallen into the water and they were shining from the bottom of the lake.

"Woah!" He said, looking at Sam whose the hair was flying around her face. "That's…"

"Awesome, I know. "She finished, a proud smile on her natural pink lips. "Tonight's great. No clouds, no rain. Just the sky and the moon."

Her eyes lost in the sky, she didn't realize that Tony's eyes were still on her.

"Why did you bring me here?" He asked. Curiosity was starting to eat him alive. "Not that I'm complaining but you don't know me. I'm a stranger. Did anybody ever tell you not to talk with strangers?"

"Let's just say that I love living dangerously." Sam seriously replied and looked at him. "Besides, technically speaking, you're not a stranger. You said it yourself… _who doesn't know Iron Man?_ I know you won't hurt me and I can defend myself. I can look after myself.. Don't worry for this."

He frowned. He somehow could read between lines and he could see through her eyes that a lot had happened to her. More than she was letting show.

"Hum wanna share some thoughts?" He gently asked.

She shook her head, trying to hide her smile. "Not tonight. Maybe someday if we have some time to chat." She checked her watch. "Jeez. I gotta go!"

"You're leaving? " Sam was almost a stranger. He didn't know her but he had loved spending the night with her. Who could have said that teenagers weren't annoying little brats? "But it's not that late."

"It is." Sam emphazied. "And I have school tomorrow."

"I'll see you around, then."

She scanned him curiously. "You're staying in town?"

"Maybe." He answered, a mysterious smile in the corner of his mouth.

"Good. I'll see you around then." She smiled back and started walking away. "And Tony?"

He turned to look at her. "Yep?"

"I brought you here because you looked like you needed some fresh air. This is a good place to ease one's mind and it's also – in your case – a good place to breathe."

He smiled as she walked away.

He was definitely going to like this girl.

* * *

The next morning, Sam woke up with a start. She had slept in and now she was going to be late for her stupid physics exam. She quickly took a bath, got dressed as fast as it was possible and grabbed her bag before running out of the house.

She decided she could buy a cocoa on her way to the bus stop because she had no time to make her own breakfast.

She was surprised to see that she had reached the Café pretty fast.

"Can I have a cocoa, please, with a bit of vanilla." She politely asked the old woman though she wasn't the fastest person ever and Sam was not in advance either. She checked out her watch as she was stamping.

A man, coming out from nowhere, said to her, "Stop stamping or you'll break the floordboards."

She jumped and turned around to find Tony with a cap on his head, and glasses on his nose. She found him quite funny like this. "Hey you." She smiled at him.

He smiled back, not taking off his glasses. "Hey yourself."

"So you're staying." She was glad to know that he was still here. After all, he was Iron Man. He could leave at any time.

"I guess I am." He replied, lazily leaning against the counter. "So, why are so you in hurry?"

"School. I told you last night." The old woman came back and handed her the hot cocoa. She took it and dropped the money on the counter before turning back her attention on Tony. "I got home pretty late last night _because of you_ and I slept in. And now, I'm late _because of you_. And now, I'm going to be even more late because _you_ are talking to me."She was definitely joking but yet, what she was saying wasn't untrue.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Do you believe me if I say I am _very very _sorry?"He gave her a quick smirk and she hit his arms. "Hey!" He falsed a scream.

"Liar!" She grinned. "And you scream like a girl." She added, proudly. He looked shocked. Really. And she laughed. "I really should be going."

"I'll see you later, then." He said as he watched her leaving the Café.

She waved him. "Alright. Bye!"

"Bye, Princess!"

"Don't call me that." He heard before the door closed behind her.

* * *

**By the way, I'm french. So english isn't my first language and I'm very sorry for any mistakes (let me know if there are too many!). The only trip I went on in an anglophone country was in South Africa in 2009 and it just lasted two ****weeks so I think there are a lot of mistakes in this first chapter.**

**Just tell me through a review :)**

**- La Chiquita.**

**Ps : At first, I posted it in Ironman fanfiction but then I removed it and posted here. I'll try to bring Natasha - well, Natalie Rushman as soon as possible ! **


	2. Ice Cream & Pretty Little Confidences

**Hello. Thanks for the reviews.**

**I'm french. So bear with me for the mistakes. But tell me, if there were too many.**

**Disclaimer : Nothing belongs to me, except Sam. Because Sam is cool !**

* * *

It has been one week since Tony had settled in a Hotel in Oregon. The place was quite luxurious and his room had a nice view on the mountains. Besides, it wasn't so far from the Café where Sam and he had breakfast every morning. This girl managed to have him up at seven. He was himself surprised.

Sitting at a table, his cap on his head not to wanting to people to know who he really was, he was patiently waiting for her while he was reading the press.

It was 7:20 am when the door opened and Sam quickly walked into the coffee. As usual, she was slightly wet. In Medford, it rained a quite regularly and when it happened, Sam appeared to be someone who didn't carry an umbrella, seeming to prefer to get soaked by the rain.

He put down his newspapers.

"Hey Tony!" She greeted as she sat down in front of him and took off her scarf.

In his hands, there were two drinks; the coffee for him and the other one for her. "Hot cocoa with a bit of vanilla."

"Thanks!" She was glad that he remembered what she had for breakfast. It meant that somehow he paid attention to her. She took a few sips of her cocoa before asking. "So, what's your plan for today?"

He swallowed what he had in his mouth and replied. "I had to call Happy to make sure to sure everything is fine at Stark Industries but he assured me he was handling everything."

She frowned, a pancake in her hand. "Happy? Your chauffeur is running your company! Are you serious?"

"Very serious !" He said. He definitely didn't see how this situation seemed ridiculous. "He is pretty good. He's got nimble fingers."

"What about your assistant?" Sam asked not knowing that it was very sensitive subject right now. "You're Iron Man. You need an assistant."

"I had one," He quickly replied. He cleared his throat. "But she left a week ago. I thought she was my friend but she left me." She clearly heard sadness through his words but it was quickly replaced by his legendary humor. "I'm amazed that she managed to stick around me for so long though. I'm sure she couldn't stand to watch this handsome face of mine anymore. My beauty was eating her alive. I know it."

She laughed, unsure if he was now joking or being serious. It was hard to follow him sometimes but yet, she found him funny. "So I guess it's time for you to find another assistant and maybe - time to go home. Your hair is starting to curl with all that rain."

"Nope. I'm sticking around a little bit. I'm starting to like the town." He was lying and he didn't even try to hide it. "Plus, you could be my assistant. Hey, do you want to be my assistant? No sexual harassment. I promise. You're far too young."

She rolled her eyes at his remarks. "You don't like here I can tell. You hate when it's raining!" He was about to reply but she carried on. "Don't deny it. Yesterday you had a shirt saying _Rain is a bitch_!" This made him smirk like evil child. "And you said it yourself. I'm far too young to be sexual harassed by you and I'm also far too young to work for you."

"You're a tough businesswoman, Princess!"

"Don't flat me." She smirked but her smile quickly disappeared when she noticed that she was going to be late if she didn't hurry. "Holy shit! I'm going to be late."

"Language Sammy!" He falsely reprimanded. "I can drive you to school you know."

She got up as he was eating up.

"I know you can," She nodded, putting her scarf on again. "But bus is fine. And I actually don't really want people to know I'm friend with a stranger – stranger who is by the way Iron Man himself. For once I have someone nice to talk to I'm not going to share."

She brightly smiled and Tony felt his heart melt. At this moment, he thought that if he had had a little sister, he would have wanted her to be just like Sam.

"Don't worry, Sammy. I'm not into sharing either."

She laughed and took the cap off his head. "You're ridiculous with this. It suits me better."

He strongly disagreed and she laughed even more. She left with his cap on her head and he felt like an idiot at smiling like that.

* * *

Sam sighed heavily as she looked through the window. The day seemed to spend very slowly. And now, she began thinking days have started spending even more slowly since Tony came into her life.

She found him nice and loved having him and his humor around. He didn't judge her. But still, he didn't know a lot of things about her. He was very secretive about his life and so was she.

Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrating and she immediately read the message from Tony.

_Aren't you supposed to listen to the teacher?_

She smiled. _So now, you're spying on me! This is called harassment, Tony!_

_I only promised for the "sexual" part, Princess. Not for the others versions of harassment._

She chuckled. _Where are you?_

_Waiting for you outside. Don't make me wait too long. Tony Stark doesn't wait. People wait for me, not the other way around._

She rolled her eyes but he couldn't know this. _You and your damn standars!_

_Language! And don't roll you eyes : )_

She gasped. _How did you know I rolled my eyes?_

_You had some bad habits that I did notice. Hurry your ass up. I'm tired of waiting._

She was about to give him one of her nasty remarks but the bell rang off.

_I'm coming, Tony-Bee._

* * *

"You're mad at me?" He asked her after fifteen minutes. She hasn't said anything since she got into the car and it was going to drive him crazy. He couldn't stand silence.

But there was no response.

"Are you going to be mad and stay quiet for a long time?"

Still no response.

"Seriously! Sam, you can't be mad because people wanted me to give them some autographs."

She looked at him angrily and snapped a bit harder than she thought she would in the first place. "It's not about _you _giving autographs. It's about _me_ being with you while you were giving your fucking autographs. I'm nobody in this town. I'm nobody in that stupid high school and I was okay with that till a while ago. Now, people know that I know you and they're going to pretend to be my friends to get to know you." She turned away. "I wanted to be nobody. It's easier this way. I don't know anybody. And nobody knows me. End of the story."

Tony remained silent for a moment, trying to understand what she meant. But he didn't. "Why are you such a loner?"

"Why are you so narcissistic?"

He didn't say anything back, not wanting to get into a fight with her. She was mad. And he got it.

"Because when you're alone it may be difficult but it is also easier. No one gets hurt. _Don't get attached and no one will get hurt. _That's what was told a long time ago."

That was all she said. But Tony guessed there was a lot more. A lot of unspoken things who were hurting her in some ways.

"Sam, I happen to be a real jerk sometimes but if you need to talk, I'm a good listener, you know." He smiled to her but she still had on her eyes on the road.

She didn't turn to look at him when she replied. "There's nothing to talk about."

"You sure?"

"Positive." She nodded, bit her lips and looked at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap earlier."

"I forgive you!" And he quickly added. "But you have to make it up to me!"

She frowned at his condition. "Shoot!"

"You owe me an ice-cream!"

"What brat you are!"

And they laughed out loud.

The previous conversation was now closed and forgotten.

* * *

Currently sitting on the roof of Tony's car, Sam and he were eating their ice-creams while the sun was setting down. The sky shone of its yellow and orange colors while the birds flew over the landscape. They still could smell the light fragance of the rain upon the asphalte, upon the grass. It was sweet, and soft. Like a fresh wind.

"This icre-cream tastes amazingly." Tony exclaimed between two mouthfuls."Why don't we have that in California?"

She moistened her lips and chuckled. "I'm pretty sure you've got chocolate cream in California."

"Are you sure?"

"Hum pretty sure!"

"Anyway. It tastes better when you're on a vacation." He concluded.

She smiled at him and at the bit of ice cream he had on the tip of his noise. "You're right. Vacation is the best time ever."

And the statement was quite true. Things are better when people took time to really look at them, to really tast them, smell them. And vacation sounded to be the best moment to do that.

"You should know by now that I'm always right." He teased and she stunk out her tongue. "Very charming and very mature..." He tousled her hair and then, she tried to push his hand away. However, the gesture made her lose her balance and she was about to fall off the roof but Tony caught her arm. "Gotcha!"

"Idiot!" She hit him when she was back on the roof. "I could have died."

He couldn't help but laugh at this remark very Stark-ish."Such a drama queen!"

She ignored him as she fastened her hair with an elastic band. His gaze fell from her face to her neck and he noticed a mark on her neck. It was nasty scar though it wasn't so visible - since he hadn't seen it till now but it couldn't be unnoticed if someone had a eye on her.

The scar was thin, quite even, and rather long. As if it had been by a knife. A small knife handled by an expert in dissection or in torture. Tony violently grabbed her wrist and her eyes snapped up at him. "How did you get that?"

"What?" She asked confused.

He brought his hand to her neck, his finger slippering on the mark. "_That_. How did you get it?"

For one moment, she tought to lie to him. However, the idea quickly dissapeared and she honestly replied him. "When I was six, some people tried to get to my... to my sister. So they kidnapped me and treated me as a bargain chip to make her come to them. I had some bad times with them until she arrived. They actually weren't the nicest people in the world."

He listened to her, certain that she had expressly kept some parts - probably unpleasant ones relating to her _bad times_ - of her story to herself.

"I'm sorry." He really felt sorry for her. He didn't know how many unsaid things that she was keeping quiet but he knew there were a lot.

She put her head on his shoulder. "Not your fault."

He cleared his throat and touched instinctively his ARC reactor. "I created _this_ in Afghanistan when terrorists kidnapped me. They wanted me to recreate one of the arms that I used to make. I refused, of course, and they tortured me as well. And the only thing that was keeping me alive was a car battery. Then, I created the ARC reactor and a sort of suit that helped me to get out of that mess."

She had heard his story before. Every American had heard it but hearing the story from Tony himself gave her a lot to think about. He had suffered - and so had she - but she could tell that scars were deeper for him. Pain was more present. His humor and his nonchalance were his mask.

"I'm sorry." She kissed his cheek. "But you're alive. And thanks to the suit and this ARC reactor you're the hero of a lot people. That isn't for nothing." She stopped and then got up on the roof and raised her hands up to the sky. "You're born to do great things, Tony Stark!"

He smiled at her madness. She was a bit crazy, she was very pretty and he found himself liking her. She shone, even in the darkest places. She was like a sunshine, like a little lost star within his lightless world.

* * *

**Tony needs a friend. Sam needs a friend. So they can be friends together, right ?**

**A review to tell me what you think. Should I go on or not ? It's up to you !  
**

**-LaChiquita.**


	3. Cuz I Know You Were Trouble

**Disclaimer : Nothing belongs to me. Except Sam.**

* * *

As days kept passing, Tony knew he had to go back home eventually. A few days ago, Happy had called him and had asked him to bring his ass back to California because he was actually not handling anything. And Tony – not pleasant to have been disturbed during his unjustified vacation – had strongly made Happy understand that he may be amazing behind the wheel of a vehicle but as for running an enterprise he royally sucked and Tony wasn't mincing his words – he never did.

That was why he had decided to leave tomorrow. He wasn't really delighted by the idea but it was necessary for him to leave. He had a life back to California and remained here was anything but helpful.

However, although it was important for him to leave the sooner, he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to his _Trip Girl_ – Sam whom he hadn't seen for three days. He had stopped by her high school and he even got into the place full of teenagers and spoke to the bald old man – who was incidentally the principal and who affirmed him that Sam hadn't been in classes since two days. Then, Tony had wanted to know where she was living in order to visit her but the bald one had given him one of his most scary glance – which Tony found particularly funny to watch – and had told him that he refused to answer questions concerning his pupils' private life and that Tony must find what he was looking for by himself.

_Fucking stupid bald man._

It was what he kept mumbling when he left the school clearly revolted by his speech. Sometimes, he truly hated people.

* * *

8:35 pm and still no news from Sam. They usually had dinner together every night and tonight was his last one here. He would have loved to have some more time with the girl before leaving. If he wasn't Tony damn Stark, he could think he was starting to get worried. Nevertheless, he was aware that he couldn't leave if he wasn't sure that Sam was okay.

He sighed and grabbed his phone. He dialed her number, waiting for her to pick up. He didn't know that on the other line, Sam was hesitating between accepting and refusing his call."Hi Tony."

Her voice seemed tired. It was trembling. Just a little bit. But he did notice it.

"Hi Sam," He gently said. "Hum, I haven't heard from you for three days and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine." It was a quick answer. Far too quick.

Something wasn't right. He could tell. Because short answers weren't her thing and it seemed that her mind was somewhere else.

"Sam," His tone was calm but it was getting serious. "Is everything okay? Where are you? Do you want me to pick you up?"

From her bedroom, her phone stuck between her ear and her shoulder, Sam was packing up; a few clothes and some money that was here for this kind of situation. She had verified that every door was closed and if anyone came in, she would immediately know it.

"Sam!"

Completely lost in her thoughts, she had forgotten that Tony was waiting for her answer from the other line. "Yeah, everything is okay. I'm fine. Really. I've just been sick lately. So I didn't want you to get sick so ..." She lied. She wasn't very proud but she had no time to answer all his questions if she was telling him the truth. "We'll catch some time up when I'm better, alright?"

From inside, she cursed herself. She wasn't even sure if she was going to be in town tomorrow. She needed to leave. And the sooner it would be, the better she would be.

"Actually, I'm leaving tomorrow in the morning. Happy sucks at running Stark Industries," Tony said, trying to light the atmosphere because something on his mind was telling him that Sam was quite tensed. "So, I thought we could have dinner together as always but since _you are sick…"_

He had emphasized the last words and Sam understood that Tony didn't believe her. She always was told that she was a bad liar.

"I'm sorry, Tony. But right now, I can't leave home," She tiptoed up to her window and looked through her window. It has been three days that a black car was parked in front of the house. She has been spying on. She could tell. She could _feel_ it.

_I can't leave home._ It was a nice choice of words, Tony thought. She said this as if something or someone was keeping her from leaving. As if she was in danger.

"Sam. I'll ask one more time and then, I'll dropt it for now," He paused. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

She bit her lips till she felt some blood on her tongue before responding. "I'm sure. Everything's fine."

"Alright…" He still didn't believe her. But tonight, he wasn't going to get anything from her. He will wait till tomorrow and this time, she won't be able to avoid his questions. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

At this moment, she noticed that the well-built man who was supposed to be sitting in the car _wasn't _currently sitting anymore and the fear hit her so violently that she gasped in horror.

"Sam?"

She quickly said. "Hum yeah sure... I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Tony." Before the line went dead.

Tony looked at his phone, shocked that Sam had hung up on him and let it fall down on the table. He run a hand in his hair and sighed heavily.

Sam was hiding something from him.

* * *

That night, Tony couldn't catch any sleep. Sam's words kept running in his mind, preventing him from having a pleasant night.

He knew from the moment when he saw her that this girl was trouble. But he didn't care because he was used to dealing with troubles. However, he didn't know what kind of troubles she got herself into and he obviously could not help if he had no information.

He was about to take some sleeping pills when he heard several sirens echoing in the calm night. He got out of the bed and saw through the window that a few fire trucks were fast rolling in the same direction probably to put out some fire.

It was when the sirens were no longer heard that he realized that they went down the street where Sam was supposed to live. He didn't exactly know where she really lived but she usually used this street to come to the Café.

He didn't give a second thought before grabbing his valise under the bed. He opened it and a small red and gold light lighted up the room. The suit was strongly shining, pulling away the shadows on the walls.

He put it on and flew out of the room.

* * *

Sam was paralyzed. Although, the whole house was burning, the floor was ready to collapse upon her feet but she couldn't properly think to move and get out of here.

Her fingers were shaking, every part of her body was hurting and she could feel blood running on her small hands.

She dropped the knife next to the lifeless body. He died. That man was dead because of her. She took away his last breath. That man who tracked her down for days, who spied on her; the same man who had wanted her dead. He died and it was all her fault.

Tears were rolling in her eyes as she felt her legs trembling making her lose her balance.

The flames were eating away the house and her as well.

* * *

The whole thing was on fire and a bad feeling hurt his stomach.

"What happened?" Tony urgently asked a fire fighter when he landed down. "And why aren't doing anything?" They were all watching the house being engulfed in the flames. In a few minutes, there would be nothing left, if they remained still.

The man – surprised to see Iron Man – blinked a few times and spoke. "Apparently, the neighbors heard shootings and they were surprised since they thought that nobody lived here. By the time we came here, the place was already burning fast. We tried to come inside but it's impossible."

Tony shot him a dangerous glare. "You're telling me you don't even know if there is anybody in there. Are you idiot or what?"

"No – nobody shouted out for help. The neighbors – they- they assured us that nobody lived here." He stammered, suddenly scared by Tony's dark eyes.

_I'm nobody in this town. I don't know anybody. Nobody knows me. End of the story._

This was her own words. And they appeared to be very true.

"Shit!" He cursed. "Tell your team to try to minimize the damages. I'm going inside."

He took off without waiting for any answer.

* * *

"Sam!" He screamed after breaking a few windows to get into the room. The temperature in here was increasing very quickly and if Sam was really somewhere in here, he definitely needed to get her out of here. "Sam!" He screamed again. "Are you here?"

No response.

"Jarvis! Tell me if there is somebody in here. Try the human blood detection."

His AI's response was almost immediate."_Upstairs, Sir. Two people. One of them is definitely dead and the second one – the girl – is alive. Injured but alive."_

"Thank you, Jarvis!"

Dead? What the hell was going in here he asked himself as he flew upstairs. His shot almost blew up the door. He scanned the room and found Sam, the knees against her chest, her arms protectively around them. Next to her, there was the dead man. He had no idea why he was actually dead here but Tony was sure that that man didn't belong to the usual decor.

"Sammy..." He slowly moved closer, not wanting to scare her even more as the front of helmet rose up, letting show his worried face. "Come on, sweetheart! We need to get out of here."

She looked up; her shaking voice was very awful to hear. "Tony… you came looking for me."

He knelt down and looked at her face. She had a nasty cut on her forehead, her lips were bleeding, and her right eye and her neck were turning blue. Someone had tried to strangle her. "Of course, I came, Princess. What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She lied not wanting to worry him.

"Sam…"

"I'm fine." But her voice cracked and she felt new tears forming.

"Cut the crap, Sam!" His tone was hard; and the joking Tony was not here right now. He pointed out the dead man. "He did this to you, right?"

She nodded and then, she gasped. "He wanted to kill me. I didn't mean to – I didn't want to – He – I just…"

"It's okay… shh… it's okay!"

"I'm not an assassin…" She whispered with her eyes full of fears and her trembling hands. "I didn't want to be _like_ her. I didn't want to be _her_. I'm not an assassin. I'm not _her!_"

"Who are you talking about, Princess?" Tony asked softly. "Who's that person you don't want to be like?"

She looked away and Jarvis chose this moment to interrupt them. "_Sir, the ceiling is about to collapse. You could save the questions for later on and leave the place in the very next minute."_

"Alright," He said as he lifted Sam up in his metal arms. He heard a hiss and he guessed it was from her present injuries. "You okay?" She nodded but her face was tearing with pain. "Everything's gonna be okay! I'll take you to the nearest hospital – "

"No!" She snapped and grimaced when the sore increased in her body. "I hate hospitals."

She looked at him with pleading eyes and he sighed. "Jarvis, does she need medical attention?"

_"She can wait till you reach home but she will have to bear the pain."_

"I will." She said squeezing her teeth harder.

Tony rolled his eyes at this girl's stubbornness. "Okay. I'm bringing you home. And then, we'll have a serious discussion, young girl."

He was trying to ease his mind but the truth was that he was very worried about her. He didn't know that much about her but seeing her in so much pain wasn't something that he expected to see when he got in the house in the first place.

"Tony Stark…having a… serious discussion…" She managed to say through her pant breath. "Humor me!"

He smiled at her remark. "You hurt my feelings!"

"You'll get over it," She whispered back. She was falling asleep and she found rather hard to focus on staying awake and joking with Tony. "My bag… I need it."

His eyes widened.

"I'm saving from a fire and all you're thinking about is your bag." He asked, almost shocked. "You're such a girl, you know that Sam… Sam? Hey Sam... stay with me, will you?"

But her eyes remained closed.

_"She fell asleep, Sir."_ informed Jarvis.

He grabbed her bag laying on her warm floor and then, he held her tighter, making sure not hurt her even more. "Hold on tight, Princess. I've got you."

He took off, flying back to California through the cold night. One question was running on his mind during his whole trip. Who the hell was _really_ Sam?

* * *

Meanwhile on the Helicarrier.

"Director Fury, "Phil Coulson said as he rudely came into the room, not caring to knock before his entrance. "One of SHIELD's safe house has been attacked tonight."

Fury completely not used to Coulson's bad manners immediately looked up. "Which one?"

"The one set in Oregon, Sir." Coulson replied, emphasizing each word to underline the seriousness of the situation.

Fury gave a quick sighed as he sunk into his chair, his hand pitching his nose. "I see. I'll take care of it."

"Sir, Agent Romanoff should be informed. After all, we're talking about – " Coulson began but Fury stopped him.

"I'm aware about whom we are talking about, Agent Coulson, " He stated strongly, showing his authority. Though Coulson was one of his most faithful, loyal, and skillful agents. "But right now, Agent Romanoff is on a mission and she doesn't need to be distracted. She'll be informed when she's back."

"She'll be only back in a few weeks. She needs to know that her sis – "

Once again, Fury cut him. "As I said. She'll be informed when she's returned."

"Very well. " Coulson said, despite him.

Fury shot him a warning glare. "Don't tell her anything."

"I won't, Sir." He assured his boss before leaving the room.

* * *

**I'm french so, I'm sorry for any mistakes ! I have no beta.**

**Thanks for reading and please review :)  
**

**-LaChiquita.**


	4. Secrets Are Not Lies

**I'm french so any mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer : Nothing belongs to me. Except Sam.**

* * *

"Care to explain me what's going on here?" James Rhodes impatiently asked Tony who was gazing in at a sleeping Sam, safely lying on his own bed. "You've been gone for nearly a month and you came back with a bleeding girl in your arms. So I think I have every right to say _what the hell, Tony?_"

"Shhhh!" Tony said, pushing him away as he closed the door. Sam just fell asleep after a rough time to patch her up and hearing screams from James weren't going to make her any good. "She needs to rest. So shut up and follow me."

Tony walked down to the kitchen; he could definitely say that I had missed this place. Opening one of his famous cupboards, he pulled out a bottle of whisky and poured the amber liquid into two glasses.

"Thanks!" Rhodey said when Tony handed him the glass as he lazily sat down on the couch. He didn't say anything for a while, waiting for Tony to start the conversation but he was absently staring at the wall in front of him. He put the glass on the small table and spoke. "Who's this girl, Tony? She's quite young to be your kind of girl… so who is she?"

For a moment, he seemed uncomfortable.

"I don't know," Tony shook his head and emptied his drink straight when he realized that he had no real response for this question. "All I know is that her name is Sam. I've never asked for her last name and she never told me either. She is… she's just _Sam."_

Rhodey wasn't sure to understand but he went on. "What happened to her? What does she look like someone has beaten the shit out of her?"

"Oh believe me… someone _did,_" Tony's hand squeezed harder the glass. "When I came in to save her, I found a very dead man and her hands were full of blood and …" He stopped, trying to pull his thoughts together.

But Rhodey concluded. "And you think she killed him."

"I do," Tony nodded, despite him. "I think she just tried to protect herself and she ended up killing him. She was pretty panicked when I got there," He poured himself another glass and drunk it as fast as the previous one. James threw him a gaze full of reproach but he brushed his concern away as always. "Sam seems to carry with her a heavy past– or maybe she's carrying someone else's."

A silence came along.

"I guess you'll have to wait till she's ready to answer your questions," James finally added and Tony glanced at him.

He was now lost in his thoughts and James knew exactly what that glance meant. "No, Tony. _Ask her_. _Talk to her_. Don't find the answer on your own. Don't nose around in her life. She's a girl, Tony- a teenage girl. Girls get scary and crazy when you pry into their life."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

"Tony!"

"_I know_ what I'm doing, Rhodey!" Tony repeated louder. His eyes were hard, his face was unreadable. James wasn't used to seeing him so determined, so worried.

James sighed but said nothing more. He knew that Tony cared for the girl.

* * *

"How's Sam doing, Jarvis?"

Tony hadn't moved from the couch since James had left. He had ended up some more glass but after listening to a very long lecture – and some reprimands – from Jarvis, he had stopped. It was already 5:00 am and he didn't feel tired – at least, not enough to sleep properly.

_"She's still sleeping and she still will be for several hours, Sir."_

The minutes went by and James's words echoed in his mind. He knew that he should wait, that prying into Sam's private life wasn't the right thing to do but he had this bad feeling in his stomach. He thought that he didn't figure out by himself, he won't ever know the truth. Because Sam was very secretive – maybe even more than he was.

And for the past days, he got himself attached to the girl. He cared for her– more than he wished to admit but he really did and he had to do something.

He stood up and walked out of the living room.

Sam's bag was there where he left it; on the piece of furniture in the corridor. Hesitation ran over his fingers for a few seconds but he took it and went down his lab.

He was going to find out her secrets.

* * *

Sam slowly woke up as she felt the sunshine on her face. She opened her eyes up but quickly closed them. The sun was too bright which gave her a burning sensation in the eyes.

"Hum, what time is it?" She whispered through her teeth. Now she was awake, she could feel the pain in her body and it was coming from everywhere. "And where the hell am I?" She was quite lost right now. Last night, that man had hit her pretty hard in the head.

_"Miss Sam, you are actually in Malibu, California and it is now 1:37 pm."_

Her eyes snapped open again. She sat up with difficulty, looked around and her eyebrows frowned. She swore that she had heard somebody.

"I'm going crazy. I heard voice now. I'm turning just like Joan of Arc," Sam said to herself as she tried to get up. And it was harder than she thought. Her ribs were hurting her like hell.

_"I'm afraid to inform you that you are not crazy. I am the voice you are hearing. I am Jarvis; Mr. Stark's Artificial Intelligence. I am connected to the whole house. If you need anything just ask me. I will be delighted to help you."_

She blinked a few times, surprised to hear the voice again but not surprised to know that Tony had this kind of technology in his house. She always knew that he was very clever despite his eternal I-don't-give-a-damn behavior but what she didn't know was how clever he was.

"Hum… thanks Jarvis," Sam replied, not used to talk to someone who wasn't actually here. "May I know where Tony is right now?"

_"Mr. Stark is currently in his lab. Downstairs on your left. "_

Bare foot, and dressed only with a shirt and her underwear, she moved towards the door "And what is he doing?"

_"I think you should find out by yourself, Miss Sam."_

She waited a few seconds, trying to understand why Jarvis was telling her that but she couldn't put words on it. Besides, she was too tired to think about anything. "It's Sam, Jarvis. Just Sam."

And she led her way to Tony's lab.

* * *

He didn't understand. He hadn't found anything about her. Jarvis hadn't found anything. Not a single piece of information that could have helped him to understand Sam's real story and why the hell some people wanted her dead.

"Jarvis, are you certain that there is nothing about a Samantha Russell?" Tony asked, Sam's identity card between his fingers. All he got was that; her identity card.

_"Positive, Sir. I cannot find anything about her. Either she is an illegal immigrant or Samantha Russell does not excite which means she is using a fake identity."_

"As if she was hiding… "Tony said absently. "Hiding from someone."

And this could explain a lot of things. And if Sam was really faking his identity, he needed to know why.

_"Sir, Sam is getting down."_

He snapped his fingers and all the screens switched off. He turned around to lock his gaze on the glass door. It was time for him to know the truth.

* * *

The floor was cold under her feet. She slowly walked through the corridor, amazed by the house. The whole place was filled by glass door which allowed the sun to come from everywhere, making the walls shine.

When she reached his lab and let herself in, she could guess he was actually waiting for her. She could see he had black eyes under his eyes like he hadn't slept for years. His features were tensed and he was looking at her as if he was looking for something. His eyes travelled over her body and she folded her arms and the gesture made her grimace.

He sighed.

"Come on, have a seat," Tony gently took her hands and led her to the chair right next to his. He grabbed his unused bottle water. "Drink this."

With her trembling fingers, she accepted it. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. It's just some water."

She looked at him. She really looked at him.

"No… I mean …_Thank you_. For saving me," She reformulated. She felt like she owed him a debt. She owed him her life. She now understood how her sister felt about his partner. "I could have died if you hadn't been there. So _thank you_."

There was gratitude in her eyes and some more things that Tony couldn't figure out what they were. It froze him and he was for a moment loss at words. He watched her; her bright green eyes, her bruises and her cuts. She was Sam; a girl that he had saved. A girl full of secrets. Secrets, he had never loved that. But yet, for her, he could do an exception.

"Sam… "He sighed, almost apologetically. "I know you lied to me. I know you're not Samantha Russell!"

Her eyes widened and he swore that he had something that looked like fear running over her face but it went off as quickly as it came and it was replaced by anger. "You went through my stuff!" She screamed indignant, getting of the chair.

"Sam, I'm honestly sorry but –"

"Don't "sorry" me. You had no right to do that!" She snapped.

He stood up as well. "I had no choice. You weren't telling me anything, Sam!" His voice was getting louder at each word. "Oh wait, I forgot… Sam isn't your real name, is it?" His sarcasm was cutting her deep but her proud kept her face straight "Right? You lied to me. You lied from the beginning."

"_I didn't!_"She could feel her throat getting heavier.

He didn't believe her. "You did!"

She bent her head down and swallowed her tears. Where she was from, people didn't cry because of some harsh words. Because over there, she had been taught to stay strong although how much it was hurting and right now, the way Tony was reacting was hurting even more than her wounds. "No. I did _not_ lie to you."

"Bullshit!" He shouted, his fists thumping violently the table. "_Samantha Russell_ doesn't fucking exist. I hacked every fucking system. You don't appear in any of them. So who the hell are you?!"

Her tears were threatening to fall and she felt herself ridiculous. She was worth better than that.

"_Samara Romanova. _Well, now it's Samara Romanoff. _"_ She looked up, bright tears shining in her eyes, and her lips trembling with fury. "Sam is a short for_ Samara_. Happy now?"She wept away some nasty tears. "I never told you that my name was Samantha Russel. You went through my things and you made your own presumptions. I never lied to you. Never. My whole life is a lie but you don't get to blame me for something I didn't do."

She was definitely worth more. She didn't want to cry for this kind of things. She was strong and independent and she wasn't going to let Tony take this away from her but at this moment, she was so exhausted that she was emotionally vulnerable.

A pang of regret squeezed his heart when she watched in which state she was.

"What is your story?" He asked this time more gently but he was still agitated. "I need to know. I need to know why you got beaten. I need to know why that man tried to kill you."

She shook her head and put her arms around her as she took some steps back. "I can't tell you. I can't. Don't ask me… please Tony, don't ask me."

"_Why?"_ he was getting exasperated. A lazy hand ran through his hair as he let his body fall down the chair. He didn't take his eyes off her.

She wasn't trying to keep her composture but Tony was getting under her skin. "Because if people know about me – if they know _who I really am_, they will go after me to get to my sister and when they'll finally have her… they will kill her. They will hurt her and will break her in every way a person can be broken," Her hands became fists. "I can't– I won't let this happen because... even though I hadn't seen her _for one year_ and _we don't have_ the best relationship she's the only family I have."

She was fighting hard against her tears and Tony felt himself obliged to hug her. He held her tight and she squeezed hard her eyelids. "I can help you, Sam." He stroked her hair. Her small body was shaking against his. "I want to help you. Just let me in, _please_."

She pulled away from him. "I can't. I promise her I won't say anything. I'm not going to break my promise even if I don't support her decisions."

"I could help her, Sam…"

"She doesn't want to be helped. She's apparently doing fine on her own," She didn't believe it. Because it didn't make any sense.

He could feel sarcasm through her words. "What's up between you and her?"

"She doesn't care about me." Her statement appeared painful. It hurt her. More than she was letting it show. "But I won't say anything though. We don't let _family _behind. Even if this family did let you behind."

He sighed but he understood her. Loyalty was something that he cherished and he was sort of proud of her. Sam loved her sister so much that she was ready to put her life in danger to protect her sister's. With his fingers, he chased away her last tears. "Could you at least tell me where you are from?"

She looked at him with her red eyes. "You swear you won't try to find anything else about me?"

"I swear," Tony placed a hand on his heart and Sam smiled at the gesture while some tears kept falling down her cheeks. "And I promise I won't try to find anything else about you as long as you stay here. At least I have an eye on you."

She nodded and bit her lips before saying. "I'm from Russia."

* * *

**Next chapter : I'll bring Natasha.**

**Review, please !**


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